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A native of Sacramento, Charmion built her act around a memorable routine which opened with her on-stage entrance dressed in full Victorian street attire. She subsequently mounted the trapeze and disrobed down to her acrobat leotards in the midst of the trapeze's swinging motion. She appears to have begun performing while in her late teens and this was part of her repertoire at least as early as May 1, 1898,[1] and possibly before 1896, when her act was seen by critic George Jean Nathan when he was a boy.[2]

Charmion performed a version of this then-risqué striptease for an Edison short film, "Trapeze Disrobing Act", on November 11, 1901.[3] Two men are pictured in the film as an on-screen audience, applauding Charmion, and catching her clothes. This was deemed necessary so that the men in the actual audience would have a visual cue to enjoy the performance, instead of reacting with disgust, as polite society then demanded.[4]